Piston ring



Sept. R954 H. M. OLSON 2,699,335

PISTON RING Filed Aug. 3.1, 1951 IN V EN TOR Her/1 1 Patented Sept. 28, 1954 PISTON RING Holly M. Olson, Muskeg-on, Mich., assignor to Sealed Power Corporation, Muskegon, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application August 11, 1951, Serial No. 241,447

This invention relates to an improved replacement oil control piston ring, which is used under the more extreme worn conditions of cylinders, pistons and rings in internal combustion engines. Instead of reboring cylinders and using oversize pistons, and new and oversize rings, it is quite common practice in internal combustion engines that, when the engine becomes seriously defective, with considerable oil pumping and burning of such oil which causes objectional smoke and exhaust, the original piston rings are removed and replaced with rings of more drastic sealing qualities in order to control blow-by and oil pumping which takes place in the cylinders. When this occurs, the pistons have been worn undersize, while the cylinder bore is oversize, resulting in a loose fit of the pistons so that in their up and down reciprocating movements, the pistons may tilt with a slap action which disrupts and breaks the seal of conven- 1 of the ring consist of upper and lower thin, substantially flat or slightly dished steel rails between which is a vented spacer holding the rails apart. The spacer has largely been made of cast iron and does not bear against the cylinder wall. The expander bears against the inner curved edges of the rails and presses them, at their outer curved edges, against the cylinder wall, supplying the main force of the pressure with which said rails engage the wall.

It is an object and purpose of the present invention to use for the spring expander and one thin steel rail, a unit made of thin steel which combines the functions of spacer and the other thin steel rail. By so doing, the number of ring parts in an oil ring for the purposes stated is reduced, each of the cylinder wall bearing rails may operate independently of the other, there is a greater ventilation through the combined rail and spacer for oil passage with avoidance of the danger of the vent openings being wholly or partly filled with carbon and the like, a better balanced unit pressure of the rail edges against the cylinder wall, and a simplification of manufacturing, stocking and packaging at the factory, and of the assembly of the ring parts in a piston ring groove.

3 Claims. (Cl. 309-45) nection with the An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in conaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical section through a piston at the oil ring groove therein and associated cylinder, with a preferred structure of the piston ring of my invention locatedin thegroove.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a blank of thin steel from which the preferred form of ring is made.

Fig. 3 is an edge View thereof.

Fig. 4 is an edge view of the completed unit of rail and spacer, which is used with an additional thin steel-rail. It is the structure in Fig. 3 after final forming and shaping. i i

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the completed rail and spacer unit shown in Fig. 4. a

Fig. 6 is a view, like that shown in Fig. 1, with a slight modification in the structure of the unit rail and spacer.

Figs. 7 and 8 are plan views of slightly modified blank forms from which the rail and spacer unit may be made, and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of thelrail and spacer unit made from the blank shown in Fig. '7. I

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawing.

The stock from which the spacer unit is made is of thin steel, usually approximately .020 to .025 inch in thickness. It is stamped to provide a rail section I and a parallel section at 2, by removing portions of the material, leaving the openings 3 separated by the transverse connectors 4. Each of the openings 3, at each end, at the section I is provided with recesses 5 as shown. In Fig. 8, the parallel section 2, substantially midway between the parts 4, has portions removed as at 6, leaving short sections 2a connected with the spaced connector portions 4. In Fig. 2, instead of cutting part of the stock away to leave spaces at 6, the continuous section 2 is cut across midway between the parts 4 and end portions are turned at right angles to make struts I.

The blanks of the type shown in Figs. 2, 7 and 8 are formed into a combined rail and spacer by bending the sections 2 or 2a generally at right angles to the connectors 4 at the outer ends of said connectors, and are again bent adjacent the bottoms of the recesses 5 to locate the rail portions I spaced from and substantially parallel to the sections 2 or 2a, and generally at right angles to the connectors 4. It will be noted that the connectors 4 between the rail portion I or the sections 2 or 20, are located outwardly of the inner edges of the rail I.

When my invention is used in a piston and placed in the groove thereof, such combined upper rail section and spacer is placed with two other members in the oil groove of a piston, as 8, which is to be installed in a cylinder 9. One of said other members is a conventional thin steel rail l located at the bottom of the groove. Such rail I0 from its outer to its inner edges is the same as the upper rail portion I of the combined steel rail and spacer unit, in the distance between outer and inner edges.

At the beginning of installation a corrugated spring expander II of conventional structure is located in the ring groove at the bottom thereof and the steel rail I0 and the combined rail and spacer of my invention are placed in the groove with the independent rail ill at the :bottom of the'groove. With such installation the expander 1| bears against the inner edges :of

the upper rail I and lower independent rail t0,

torcing them with :a substantially equal :pressure against the ,wall of the cylinder 9,. The struts :1 extending upwardly from the ends of the sections 211, in :Fig. ,1, :reach the upper rail l and support and hold it against fluttering .or .:other undesired movement.

Fig. 6 the structure is substantially the same as in Fig. 1, except that the @unit, consisting of the upper :rai-l I and the connected spacer is iformed from a :blank :of the type shown in :Fig. there being 110 supporting .struts '1. The

,rrhrough theopenings made at 3 is large, there is a balanced unit pressure :of the .ringzagainst the .cylinderwalls. The invention is particularly desirable-in noniiunction with the assembly of the parts therein in a piston ring groove, while i111 :the :Eactory :there is a marked simplification in manufacturing, stocking :and packaging.

filhe invention is defined :in the appended 4 claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. A three part piston ring comprising, a lower, thin substantially horizontal metal rail, an upper like rail having spaced, downwardly extending connectors integral therewith positioned outwardly from the inner edges of said upper rail, located adjacent the inner edges thereof, each connector at its lower end terminating in a horizontal section resting upon the lower rail, each of .said horizontal sections, at each end thereof having an integral upwardly extending strut, the upper ends of the struts being substantially against the lower side of said upper rail, and a spring member back of and bearing against the inner edges of said upper and lower rails.

2. A combined rail and spacer structure comprising, a generally flat, thin circular metal rail having, adjacent its inner edges, spaced, integral, downwardly extending connectors positioned outwardly from the inner edges of said upper rail, each at its lower end terminating ,in a generally flat, horizontal section, the said sections at adjacent ends of successive sections be- :ing spaced apart, and the outer edges of said sections being :set inwardly from the outer edges of said rail, each of said sect-ions at each end having an integral upwardly extending strut, the upper ends of thestruts extending substantially to the under side of said rail.

3.. A combined rail and spacer structure comprising, a generally'flat, circular metal rail having, adjacent its inner edges, spaced, integral, downwardly extending connectors, positioned outwardly from the inner edges of said upper rail, each at its lower .end terminating in a generally flat horizontalsection, the .said sections .at adjacent ends of successive sections being spaced apart, and each section having an integral upwardly extending strut, the upper ends of the struts extending substantially to the .under side cf said rail.

References (Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,28'7;707 Phillips June 23, 1942 12,404,140 McFall July 16, 1946 2,463,802 Phillips Mar. 8, 1949 

